Radiation Burns
by Pacer287
Summary: They look like Humans, but act like Krogan. They don't use Mass Relays, but their own, unknown form of FTL. They have advanced technology, but rejected the Council. Now they hide in isolation, like a dormant beehive, easily angered. They are the Terran's, and Saren intends to turn them against the Council. Can Shepard stop this war before it starts? Rating may change. R
1. Chapter 1

Radiation Burns

Prologue

Codex Entry: Timeline

**(AN: I altered the timeline a bit and the planets are named after Greek gods not Roman gods.)**

_August 17, 2277: Lone Wanderer leaves Vault 101 in search of his father James._

_August 24, 2277: Lone Wanderer repairs GNR broadcast dish and discovers unidentified radio signal._

_August 26, 2277: Lone Wanderer discovers crashed Theta scout ship and is abducted by the Zetans._

_August 28, 2277: Lone Wanderer returns to Capital Wasteland, using alien technology to compensate for his less-than-adequate combat skills._

_September 12, 2277: Work resumes on Project Purity, the facility is attacked by the Enclave, Lone Wanderer mounts a defense with the help of allies Dogmeat, Charon, and Sgt. RL-3._

_September 14, 2277: Siege of Project Purity ends with an Enclave victory, James overloads main purifier to delay the Enclave and allow the rest of the staff to escape to the Citadel. The Lone Wanderer, in mourning over the loss of his father, goes on a two month rampage across the Wasteland, recruiting Jericho and Clover into his team._

_November 8, 2277: Lone Wanderer returns to Vault 101 after receiving a distress signal, Vault Overseer steps down and his daughter Amata becomes new Overseer. Lone Wanderer is exiled from the Vault. Butch DeLoria joins team._

_November 10, 2277: Lone Wanderer discovers Enclave defectors and takes them to the Mothership, which is renamed the Olympus. Terran Starship Command begins building in secret while the Lone Wanderer works with the Brotherhood of Steel to locate a G.E.C.K. Star Paladin Cross joins the team and begins instructing them in the use of power armor._

_November 12, 2277: The Lone Wanderer and his team enter Vault 87 to recover the G.E.C.K. Lone Wanderer is captured by the Enclave but the rest of the team escapes._

_November 13, 2277: Lone Wanderers team assault Raven Rock creating enough of a distraction for their leader to escape and destroy President Eden in the process, Fawkes joins the team. The Brotherhood mounts an attack on Project Purity spearheaded by Liberty Prime, the Lyons Pride, and the Wanderers team. Project Purity is activated._

_November 30, 2277: Adams Air Force Base is destroyed by an orbital strike._

_March 10, 2278: Terran Starship Command establishes presence in all settlements across the Capital Wasteland._

_March 29, 2278: The city of Poseidonis is founded by the TSC._

_June 10-12, 2278: Western Brotherhood of Steel attacks Rivet City in an attempt to assassinate the Supreme Commander. War is declared between the TSC and the Brotherhoods western chapter. Elder Lyons declares independence from the Brotherhood of Steel, a brief but brutal war erupts between Lyons chapter and the Brotherhood Outcasts. The Outcasts are defeated but Lyons chapter suffers massive casualties and is unable to support the Command. Regulators enter alliance with the TSC when they learn the assassins killed dozens of unarmed civilians._

_June 13, 2278: TSC enters an alliance with the Reborn Coalition of Soviet Nations after the Commander foiled a plot by Bolshevik rebels to overthrow General Orlov. The Command begins mass producing modified Hammerhead armor while the BoS begins planning to attack the Olympus._

_July 28-30, 2278: Western BoS takes Vault 101 hostage in attempt to gain leverage over TSC. The Supreme Commander and his old team liberate the Vault with minimal civilian casualties. Vault 101 joins the TSC and brings a virtual treasure trove of Pre-war technology. Supreme Commander breaks stalemate in the war by launching an ICBM from Fort Constantine into the Brotherhoods rear lines, resulting in the destruction of 35% of the Brotherhoods ground forces. The Commander also pays Talon Company to join the war._

_August 1, 2278: The Western Brotherhood launches several modified ICBMs to attack the Olympus in orbit. Several of the TSCs Valkyrie pilots sacrifice themselves to intercept the missiles and the final missile is unable to penetrate the ships shields. The Command retaliates by using the ships ion cannon to destroy the Western Brotherhoods main base, killing Elder Irons and most of the Brotherhoods leadership as well as many of their veterans. The Western BoS surrenders and the TSC begins pushing west._

_December 15, 2278: Robert House, through use of bribery, blackmail, and other corrupt methods, unites Caesar's Legion and the New California Republic with his own forces to fight against the TSC._

_December 16, 2278: The Command launches an attack on The Strip but is repelled after suffering massive casualties. War hero Sarah Lyons dies in the assault, dealing a major blow to the Commands morale. Elder Lyons dies of a heart attack, believed to be caused by the shock of his daughters death._

_December 17, 2278: Frustrated with the disaster of the Battle of The Strip and the death of his friend Sarah, the Supreme Commander takes his old team to explore the Mojave Wasteland. While exploring they encounter the Courier and his team, who are being hunted by House's army. The two sides engage each other in a massive battle that ended with both parties to exhausted to move. The Courier and his team begin working to unite the other factions of the Mojave with the TSC as well as eroding Houses control over his 'allies'. The Courier also gave the TSC access to Big Mountain._

_December 25, 2278: Under leadership of the Courier, the factions of the Mojave join the TSC in a second assault on The Strip. The Courier and Commanders teams fight side-by-side to infiltrate the Lucky 38 Casino. Robert House is killed in the assault and the Courier uses the Platinum Chip to take control of Houses defense grid and turns it against the Legion and the NCR. The NCR surrenders and is voluntarily absorbed into the TSC, the Legion fights to the last man and is wiped out. The Courier is made governor of the Mojave Wasteland while the Command continues to expand into Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and the Northwestern U.S._

_February 5, 2280: The TSC, now in control of the entire Western Hemisphere, begins to expand across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, landing troops in Africa and Australia. Meanwhile in Germany, the Teutonic Knights are defeated by the Fourth Reich, who begin to expand across Europe._

_September 7, 2282: The Command now controls most of the Pacific and Africa and is expanding into the Middle East and South Asia, where they encounter Neo-China and the Indian Confederation. Meanwhile, the Iberian Union is the last nation in Europe to fall to The Reich, who begin fortifying the continent in preparation for the TSC._

_August 10, 2285: The Commands forces in the Mid East defeat the Indian Confederation and continue to push into Asia. Meanwhile the TSC is making frustratingly slow progress in China due to enemy stealth commandos. The RCSN begins preparing for a possible assault by the Fourth Reich while the British Commonwealth, fearing that they will be the Reich's next target, are voluntarily absorbed into the TSC._

_May 18, 2286: Neo-China is now fighting a war on two fronts, realizing that they cannot win without somehow demoralizing the TSC, send an assassination team to the DC Wasteland. The team attempts to assassinate famed radio DJ Three Dog, shooting him in the throat with a laser, Three Dog survives the assassination attempt but his vocal cords are destroyed and he is muted. Three Dog begins training several young individuals to run GNR and carry on his legacy, proving that you just can't keep a good Three Dog down. Meanwhile in China, Three Dog becomes a martyr and gives TSC the kick they need to finally force Neo-China to surrender._

_June 8, 2287: After a year of preparations the TSC and RCSN launch a massive twelve pronged assault against the Fourth Reich, sending millions of soldiers against defensive fortifications that, to quote LTG. Clover, "Makes Hitlers Atlantic Wall look like a fucking sandcastle."_

_October 23, 2292: After five years of war the Fourth Reich surrenders to the TSC and the RCSN. However, in a surprising twist, General Orlov asks that the Coalition be absorbed into the TSC. When asked why the General replied, "As long as their are two nations on this planet there will continue to be war, and while Mother Russia's cold winters can work many wonders, I doubt even they could protect us from the fires that the TSC would rain down upon us should we go to war." And so the RCSN was absorbed into the Command, and on the anniversary of its destruction, the planet Terra was united under a single banner. But the peace would be short-lived._

_December 30, 2292: The people of Terra are beginning to adjust to a world of peace, although raiders, wildlife, old robots, and crazed super mutants are still a problem they are not on the same scale that they once where and with no major factions waging war many Terran's are looking forward to what they hope will be a year of peace. Unfortunately, the Zetans launch an attack on the planet but are repelled by the Terran fleet. It appeared that peace would have to wait._

_June 1, 2293: The TSC follows the wounded Zetan fleet to the planet Ares and defeats them, taking control of the planet. The Terran's discover that the Zetans control a massive empire of one hundred forty two planets spread across twenty systems and four clusters. Terran moral plummeted as they realized they were fighting against an opponent who held every advantage, to quote Admiral Jericho, "Looks like that bitch Lady Luck decided to give us a giant 'fuck you' this New Years, along with the big fucking middle finger!" Despite the massive drain in moral, the Supreme Commander told his people to have hope and convinced them to go down fighting._

_June 15, 2293: The Terran's attack the planet Zeus, seizing its shipyards. Now able to expand their star fleet, a few Terran's dare to believe that they can beat the Zetans._

_February 12, 2294: The TSC drives the Zetans off of the dwarf-planet of Hades, securing their home star system. They begin colonizing the moon of Terra as well as the planets Ares and Aphrodite. Due to the removal of many outside factors such as disease, food supply, and territory, the Terran population begins increasing at a rate previously thought impossible._

_November 7, 2298: After driving the Zetans out of a third system the Terran's make an unbelievable discovery: the Zetans caused the Great War, they'd hacked into missile silos and government computers across the planet and given false authorization for nuclear strikes. Enraged by this information, the entire Terran populace cries out for blood and military enlistment soars across their budding empire. The TSC begins developing more unorthodox and ruthless tactics to fight the Zetans, no longer caring about winning the war with their honor intact. The untold numbers of Terran's that died in the Great War told them that honor didn't matter. For both sides, this was a war of genocide._

_April 13, 2302: The Terran's drive the Zetans out of their fifth system and are now in control of a fourth of the Zetans empire. The Terran's chase the Zetans into their second cluster, initiating the Terran's first FTL war._

_August 27, 2308: The TSC drive the Zetans out of a second star cluster, the two empires are now equal in size. The Terran's continue pushing the Zetans back in their third cluster._

_January 3, 2309: Zetans are pushed back into their final star cluster, Siege of Zeta Prime begins._

_March 12, 2312: Siege of Zeta Prime ends, the last Zetan is confirmed dead by PVT. Thomas Adler. TSC begins colonizing their new empire._

_September 18, 2315: The Terran's discover star charts in the Zetan archives that point to a nearby cluster were the Zetans had planned to expand. Admiral Jericho is sent with an exploration fleet to search for traces of Zetan survivors and see if the cluster is suitable for colonization._

_September 21, 2315: Turians order Admiral Jericho to surrender after Terran exploration fleet appears at an outpost system on the border of Turian space, the Terran's open fire._

_September 24, 2315: The Turians are unable hold out against the Terran's technological superiority and ruthless tactics, they are forced to surrender the system. The Turian Hierarchy believes that humans are behind the attack and prepares to go to war with the Alliance._

_September 26, 2315: The Citadel Council makes peaceful contact with the TSC and war is avoided. The Terran's are introduced to the galactic community, including their genetic cousins, the Humans. Though many are baffled and amazed at the similarities between the two races the Terran's are largely uninterested in Humanity and show little friendship towards them. There is enough genetic diversity for the two of them to be considered separate races._

_December 12, 2315: The Terran Council rejects the Citadel Councils offer to give the Terran's an embassy and publicly insults them for reasons that have not been made public to Council races. The Terran's largely withdrawal from the galactic community: trade and immigration are strictly controlled, very few Terran's emigrate willingly, any ship that attempts to enter Terran space without proper clearance is destroyed, and they refuse to share any technology with the rest of the galaxy, including teleportation, energy weapons, and independent FTL._

_June 5, 2318: The Migrant Fleet arrives in Terran space but is not attacked. The Terran's allow the Quarians to remain within their borders for an indefinite amount of time and even repair several of their ships. When the Council questions their actions the Terran's replied, "Since when do you care about the Quarians?" When the Council questioned the meaning of the Terran's response the Supreme Commander clarified, "In Terran space they're referred by the name of their species, not the derogatory term 'Suit Rats' that you seem to enjoy using." And the matter was settled. Quarians are treated as equals in Terran space and many Terran's see them as kindred spirits. Survivors who have lost their home and now travel the stars._

_May 18, 2322: The Citadel Council discovers that the Terran's have been producing dreadnoughts, AI's, and nuclear weapons, violating the Treaty of Farixen and the Citadel Conventions. When the Council confronts the TSC the Terran's simply point out that they're an independent nation and do not answer to the Citadel Council, if the Council wanted them to stop they were going to have to go to war._

_July 8, 2327: Spectre Saren Arterius arrives in Terran space, reported to be hunting a terrorist group that infiltrated the TSC, the Terran's are skeptical and naturally suspicious of a Spectre agent, but they allow him to land on the dwarf-planet Hades. Saren deploys an army of Geth into the planets main colony under the guise of surveillance drones._

_July 9, 2327: Saren leaves Terran space and remotely activates the Geth, who immediately attack the Hades colony, overwhelm its defenses, and kill its civilians. But since Terran space is outside of normal communications range Saren is unable to defend himself when Commander John Shepard presents evidence of Sarens betrayal to the Council and his Spectre status is removed. A virus is automatically released into the Extranet, making all information on Saren and his allies inaccessible._

_July 11, 2327: Admiral Guts and the Terran Fifth Fleet are sent to deal with the Geth._

_July 25, 2327: The Supreme Commander threatens to go to war with the Citadel Council if the Geth are not deactivated. The Council explains Sarens betrayal, sending Shepard and his team to help clear out the Geth and ease tensions._

SSV Normandy

"Okay, I know I say this before just about every mission, but we're gonna die." Joker said in his usual sarcastic tone as the Normandy approached the Mass Relay. "I'm sure of it this time, the Council is trying to kill us. I mean they're sending to work with Terran's. TERRAN'S!"

"Calm down Joker." Shepard replied. "I haven't see you this nervous since you found out Wrex was coming with us."

"Yeah but then he saved your ass on Therum and now I know I can trust, plus I had faith in your ability to take him before he caused any trouble." Joker added.

"Yeah, sure ya did." Shepard said wittily.

"I did! I knew that if anything happened you'd- oh, give me a sec, witty comeback in a few seconds." Joker prepped the ship for the FTL jump, a few seconds later the Relay charged the mass effect core and the ship jumped into light speed.

"Alright, we'll be in Terran space in about half an hour, but god do I wish it would take longer."

"Joker."

"What? You've heard about the Terran's, haven't you? Sure they look like Humans but their solution to every problem is to press the nuclear button! Plus they already wiped out one alien race!"

"Wrex and Tali have said some good things about them." Shepard replied simply.

"Yeah but Terran's are basically Krogan in Human suits, plus I'm a little suspicious about them liking the Quarians so fast. Sure there's plenty to love about Quarians, you know I always liked Tali-"

"You're just saying because she helped fix your chair."

"My point is that they'd only just met the Quarians and they where all like 'Oh, let's be friends!' That just doesn't sit right with."

"Look, we don't have time for this." Shepard sighed. "Just tell the ground team to be ready in less than half an hour."

"Aye aye Commander." Joker said before activating the ships PA system. "Attention Normandy crew! We will be arriving in Terran space in less than half an hour. All ground team members gear up and report to the briefing room. Now would everyone please pray to your personal God or deity that we don't go up in a nuclear flash as soon as we exit FTL-"

"Joker!"

"What? I'm just being realistic." Joker said innocently.

"Joker, I understand the the TSC has a bad record but you don't need to-"

"If the two of you are finished." Both men froze as the voice came over the intercom, then they realized that Joker never turned off the PA system.

"What is it Dr. Chakwas?" Shepard asked, somewhat embarrassed knowing that the entire ship had heard him and Joker.

"I'd advise against bringing Liara on this mission. She has yet to recover from her experience on Therum."

"Alright, Liara is sitting this one out. Is everyone else okay to come?"

"Of course Commander. Chakwas out."

"Joker, patch us through to the Council. I want to get as much information on the TSC that I can before we get out of comm range."

"Aya aye Commander, they'll be waiting for you in the briefing room."

Fifteen minutes later

"Commander, I'm glad you contacted us before you traveled out of range." Councilor Tevus greeted as Shepard and his team gathered in the briefing room.

"Why is Terran space outside of communication range?" Shepard asked.

"They don't trust us to deploy comm buoys in their territory, they believe we could use them to hack into their military networks." Councilor Sparatus answered in his usual irritated tone. "Too say that the Terran's are paranoid would be an understatement."

"Which is why the importance of this mission cannot be understated." Tevus continued. "To put things simply; if you do not stop the Geth, the Terran's will go to war with the Council races. They believe that we ordered Saren to deploy the Geth on Hades and are threatening war if they are not deactivated. We explained that Saren was acting on his own accord when he deployed the Geth, but it is unlikely that they believe us. Your mission is to aid the Terran's in removing the Geth presence on Hades and easing tensions however possible." Tevus didn't sound to hopeful, but she hid it well.

"So this is essentially a peace negotiation with guns." Wrex spoke up. "I like it."

"This isn't something you should be taking lightly Urdnot Wrex." Councilor Valern stated. "The Terran's are technologically superior to all other races in the galaxy, they are unbound by the Treaty of Farixen and the Citadel Conventions, they openly experiment with AI's and genetic engineering, and every attempt the Council has made to control them has met with threats of war, to say nothing of their choice in allies!" Shepard could have sworn her heard Tali mumble 'bosh'tet' under her helmet.

"What do you mean by choice in allies?" Shepard asked, from what he'd heard the Terran's where isolationists who wanted little to do with the galaxy outside their borders.

"We have received reports that Terran's show preference towards the Krogan, Quarians, and Vorcha rather than other races though we have been unable to determine the reason."

"They value our survival skills." Tali said simply.

"What?"

"The Terran's come from a planet that is largely irradiated, any race other than the Krogan would think it inhospitable, but the Terran's have been thriving and rebuilding their home world for centuries. They value the endurance of races that are typically seen as second-class citizens by the Council."

"We do not view your kind as second-rate-" Tevus didn't get a chance to finish before Tali cut her off.

"Really? Because pretty much everyone I've met who wasn't a Terran or a Quarian has treated me like dirt, hell I even got jumped by a group of Turians who beat the shit out of me for no reason whatsoever and do you know who stopped them? A Terran! So don't tell me that Quarians aren't considered second-class." Everyone stood in stunned silence at Tali's outburst. "Sorry, I just really needed to get that out."

"Commander Shepard." The Turian Councilor spoke up after a few seconds. "I would advise you to exercise more discipline over your team in the future, or at the very least while you are in the presence of the Terran's. The last thing we need is another incident."

"Never thought I'd see the day the Turians were afraid to shoot at something." Ashley said just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ash, we have a good reason to be afraid of the Terran's." Garrus stated. "The system they attacked had been under Turian control since the Rebellions, and they took it in just three days. Some friends of mine where stationed at one of the bases and most of them came home in coffins or, if they where on the front lines, soup cans. Only one of them came back alive and he shot himself in the head a week later." That darkened the mood, it was well known that very few Turians every got PTSD and military suicides where low.

"Uh, Commander." Jokers voice chimed over the intercom. "I don't mean to interrupt but we're about to lose are signal."

"Damned paranoid Terran's!" Sparatus mumbled. "Good luck Commander, if you cannot create peace with the Terran's then I fear our grandchildren will not live to regret it." And then they lost their signal.

"Well... No pressure." Shepard said to no one in particular.

**Good? Bad? Give me some feedback, do you think I can do something with this series or should I take some time to develop it further?**

**Also, if the Codex entry seemed to be lacking information I would like to point out that this is a Human Systems Alliance Codex, not a Terran Starship Command Codex. Some information has been restricted by the TSC. Should I keep adding Codex entries in the chapters or should I create another story to use as a Codex.**

**But wait, there's more! The faction and events listed in the timeline do not reflect my political beliefs.**


	2. Chapter 2

Radiation Burns

Chapter 1

"Dropping out of FTL in three..."

The tension in the air was palpable as Joker counted the seconds until they arrived in Terran space. It reminded John all to much of the First Contact War, he was only three when it happened but he could still remember it as if it where yesterday: his parents watching the frontline reports when they thought he was asleep, his mother panicking when she heard that Shanxi had and insisting they take the next shuttle back to Earth, his father hiding a shotgun under his parents bed. In the end he wished they had left Mindoir...

"Two..."

Over the next thirteen years the only thing on his mind was getting off of that colony and going out to see the galaxy, he wanted to learn more about the other races, learn about the beings that he was sharing the galaxy with. The more xenophobic colonists always told him he was a fool and that the only thing interacting with aliens would get him was a bullet. They weren't entirely wrong either, not after the Batarians started landing en-mass...

"One.."

A few years later he was received the third shock of a lifetime in the form of a race that looked exactly like humans. He was as surprised as anyone when he heard the Turians claim that one of their most secured systems had been attacked by humans and taken in three days. He remembered seeing reporters talking to veterans with horrid scars who recounted how they where attacked by humans using energy weapons being supported by nightmarish creatures. Talking about how they had opened fire on unarmed civilians and attacked non-military targets. Claiming that they deployed eight-foot super soldiers and colossal synthetics. The whole thing was too incredible to believe! The Alliance was on alert for two full days before the Council made contact with the new arrivals, the Terran's, a militaristic and suspicious people who rejected and insulted the Council for reasons that where still unknown to anyone that wasn't in the room at the time, then retreated back into their territory with next to no contact with the rest of the galaxy.

"Mark!"

As the Normandy began to slow Shepard did his best to prepare himself for what could be waiting for them: a diplomatic shuttle, a dreadnought, or maybe Joker was right and the Terran's would just blast them into atoms the second they saw them. He was about to find out, the Normandy finished its deceleration and and space opened up before them to reveal...

Nothing.

Shepard could barely believe it, he'd expect a race like the Terran's to keep a fleet of dreadnoughts guarding the main route in and out of their territory but he couldn't see anything and the scanners where blank. All that tension for nothing, it was so-

"Anticlimactic." For once Joker said the right thing at the right time. "So... Since there's no one here do you think we can leave or-"

"YOU HAVE ENTERED RESTRICTED SPACE! IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY!" Everyone jumped as an angry, feminine voice came blasting through the comm system.

"The hell!" Joker cried as his eyes dashed between the scanners and the viewport. "I don't get it all the scanners are blank, where the hell did that come from! There's nothing out here-"

"Hold on a second." Garrus interrupted, adjusting something on his eyepiece and leaning closer to the viewport. "What's that?" He pointed out to a section of space that looked empty, then Shepard realized it was TOO empty, it was to big to be a gap between distant stars but it was completely black, and as he looked around he noticed more places where the stars could not be seen. Then the dark spots started to shift, the rest of the team noticed and leaned closer to the viewport, watching as something in the spots became more and more visible until...

"Of my God!" Ashley gasped, Shepard could sense the shock in his other squad mates as well.

No one had ever seen an entire fleet appear out of nowhere.

"If the Alliance thought they had the most advanced stealth ship in the galaxy, they just got taken down a couple notches." Kaidan said as he stared at the armada that had suddenly appeared in front of him. In its center was a massive dreadnought that looked like two UFO's from an old 90's movie that had been attached by a series of metal beams, green lights pulsed across its hull and their was a massive gun attached to the bottom of the ship. In terms of size the Terran dreadnought put the Destiny Ascension to shame and Shepard could only guess how much power it's main gun had. He didn't know a thing about energy weapons.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF! NOW!"

"Ugh." Joker was still to stunned to speak correctly. Shepard's keen eyes spotted movement along the hulls of the Terran ships and the Normandy's alarms shrieked in warning. The Terran's where lining up shots.

"UNKNOWN VESSEL! IDENTIFY YOURSELF NOW OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPPON! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!"

"This is the SSV Normandy SR1!" Joker said frantically. "We where sent here on a mission by the Citadel Council! We have a Spectre onboard!"

It seemed as though the universe went quite as they waited for a response, though Shepard took the lack of weapons fire as a good sign.

"Normandy, your identification has been authenticated. You are clear to dock with the dreadnought Valhalla. However, due to the... Circumstances of your visit you will not be allowed to enter the ships hangers. A fighter has been sent to guide you to a docking tube. The Admiral will be waiting for you."

"Thank you." Joker replied as the fighter approached.

"Since when do you give out the ships full identification code?" Shepard asked.

"Since a freaking ghost fleet appeared out of nowhere and made me shit myself!" Joker replied, his heart feeling like it was going to break out of his rib cage as he approached the dreadnought. The Normandy's scanners showed that they where still being targeted.

After a few tense seconds the Normandy pulled up next to the Valhalla and a docking tube linked the ships.

"Come back soon!" Joker called as Shepard's entire ground team, minus Liara, left the ship. "Please!" He looked nervously out the view port and saw a turret with a green cylinder on the end aiming right at him. Yep, he definitely needed to change his pants.

**(Terran's do not fuck around when it comes to protecting the only mass relay in their territory, just in case the stealth fleet wasn't enough of a clue. And yes Joker has a plasma cannon at him right now)**

Valhalla Docking Tube

"You where right Tali, Terran's are such wonderful people!" Ashley said sarcastically as they waited for the airlock to finish pressurizing. "I just wanna hug one and never let go!"

"Hey, they're not that bad." Tali replied, though it was clear that she was a little shaken by the recent near-death experience.

"They where about to turn the Normandy into molten slag!" Garrus replied matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty sure you've lost this argument."

"Drop it." Shepard said calmly but authoritatively. "We're meeting a Terran Admiral. We want to at least try to look professional."

"Aye aye Commander." Ashley responded as she stood at attention. Garrus just nodded and settled into a relatively professional looking stance. Kaidan and Tali followed their squad mates examples while Wrex just grunted and shifted slightly as the airlock opened. The docking tube was longer than Shepard expected, clearly designed to give the crew on the other side time to react if the boarders came out with guns blazing.

On the opposite end of the tube, roughly fifty feet away, where three people; two of them were at least eight feet tall, most likely some type of genetically engineered super soldiers, encased in suits of pitch-black armor with glowing red eyes, they had an insignia on each shoulder though Shepard didn't recognize either one but the one on the left shoulder had something written under it, Thunder-something, they wore black berets on their helmets that had an insignia that matched the one on their right shoulder, both of the soldier where carrying some type of heavy weapons, mini-guns of some sort from the look of it.

**(Power armored Super Mutants! Yes, I went there! Also, the other races don't know about the Ghouls and Super Mutants, they think the Supers are just genetically modified soldiers and the only Ghouls they've seen where on the receiving end of Turian artillery.)**

Standing between the two soldiers was a man in a TSC officers uniform. From the look of him he was in his seventies: his face aged, wrinkled, and emotionless, there was a large claw scar on the right side face that went from his forehead to his chin, his hair was almost completely grey and styled in a very 'unusual' haircut for a man his age. His eyes betrayed no emotion as he studied the men and women walking towards him, Shepard had little doubt that he was calculating the quickest way to kill them as he stood their with his hands behind his back, he could tell by the Admirals eyes that he had seen many horrors in his life, and if the rumors of Terran war atrocities where true, committed many such acts himself.

When the team was about ten feet away the Admiral pulled his right hand out from behind his back and gave the universal symbol of 'stop', as he did Shepard got a good look at his hand; it was covered in horrible scars and three of his fingers where cybernetic. When the team stopped eight cylinders emerged from the tube, four from the ceiling and four from the floor, and began scanning the ground team. After a few tense seconds the scanning laser vanished and the scanners retracted, but before anyone could give a sigh of relief the scanners where immediately replaced with eight turrets.

"State your name and affiliation." The Admiral said in an authoritative, emotionless, slightly accented voice.

"Commander Shepard. Alliance Navy." An electric hum filled the air as Shepard finished, the turrets where powering up.

"I was told to expect a Spectre." The Admirals voice darkened and his eyes narrowed but his face betrayed no emotion.

"I'm the first human Spectre." Shepard replied calmly. The Admiral looked skeptical for a second and his head tilted slightly.

"Your identification has been confirmed." He said after a few seconds, though he clearly wasn't happy about it. "I'd say 'welcome aboard' but I don't like lying."

"And you are?" The Admirals face darkened at Shepard's subtle challenge of his authority.

"Admiral Butch DeLoria, Terran Seventh Fleet. Its my job to make sure that anyone or anything that tries to enter or exit Terran space without proper clearance gets turned into scarp metal." His eyes slowly moved from one soldier to the next, showing no emotion as he did so. "It's also my job to inform all newcomers that if you're found with any technology or caught taking any illegal scans, I will personally find the deepest hole in the universe, dig deeper, and put you in it." His voice stayed casual, almost if he made that threat everyday.

"I was sent here to help you stop the Geth, not smuggle technology."

"Yeah, last Spectre who came through said he was just here to help. Only thing he did was put several thousand Terran's into unmarked graves."

"And how many more are dying while we stand here arguing?" The Admirals face softened slightly at Shepard's words.

"Terran's don't fear death like you do, and we sure as hell don't waste our time crying about those who have died." He pulled his hands out from behind his back revealing a clunky old computer module on his left wrist and began tapping the screen. "But that doesn't mean we don't mourn them." He finished with the computer and looked back at Shepard. "If you'll follow me to the hanger, we have a shuttle waiting to take you to Hades."

"I can take the Normandy."

"There's no relay that links to the other clusters of Terran space." Admiral DeLoria stated. "And the FTL drive on your ship would take three days to reach the system without a relay. With Terran FTL it would only take an hour."

Shepard pondered the admirals words; he needed to resolve the situation as soon as possible but leaving the Normandy attached to a Terran dreadnought while he and most of the ships best soldiers were who knows how many light years away was a bit to much to ask. Even though the Terran's had made it clear that the Normandy's stealth systems where primitive when compared to their technology the ship still had plenty of Alliance and Council intel on board that they didn't want in Terran possession, to say nothing of what would happen to the crew if the Terran's decided to double-cross him. Shepard looked back at his team to try and get a sense of their opinions of the situation: Ashley and Garrus were very obviously opposed to the idea of leaving the Normandy unguarded with the Terran's, Wrex didn't seem to care, Kaidan was suspicious, and Tali, despite having her view of the Terran's had been shaken by resent events, was still willing to trust them.

"The quicker we resolve this the less likely there is to be a diplomatic incident." Shepard said, his squad mates shot a few hesitant glance between themselves and the Terrans and, one by one, nodded in agreement.

"Follow me." The Admiral DeLoria said as he turned and walked down the hall, Shepard and his team followed and the super soldiers took up the rear.

"What can you tell me about the situation on Hades?"

"It's my job to worry about the Relay, I leave the Hades situation to Admiral Guts." DeLoria replied.

"So you have no idea what's going on?" Shepard asked.

"All I know is that they sent back the marine squads they diverted to Hades. All of them had suffered at least fifty percent casualties."

"Still, if their sending troops back that's a good sign right?"

"Not quite, Terran marines are frontline shock troops, it's their job to land on the planet and establish a foothold then the army takes over. We also use them for boarding actions."

"Boarding!?" Garrus shouted. "Are you saying you actually attempt to board enemy ships while in combat!"

"Pretty much." The Admiral replied. "Get a bunch of marines, but 'em in a shuttle, and send them at the enemy ship. They'll never know what hit 'em."

"That explains a few things." Garrus grumbled.

"Like what?"

"Like how a gunner I knew died of from gunshot wounds."

"That was the mission that got me into the Black Guards." One of the behemoths spoke nostalgically.

"And why are you telling that you're the one who killed him?"

"Because he's a dumb bastard who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut." The other guard grumbled. "They'll let anyone into the Guards these days."

"Hey! I earned this emblem! I crushed fifty Zetans with my bare hands!"

"That's it?! I didn't even get into the Thunderfists when I did that!"

"You wanna go a couple rounds old man?"

"Drop it. NOW." The admirals words caused both of the soldiers to stop and fall back in line. "Now then." He gestured to an orange circle on the floor. "Step on."

"What?" Shepard asked.

"It's a teleporter panel. Just step on and it'll zap you straight to the hanger."

"Or you could send us into space without opening an airlock." Ashley said suspiciously.

"If I wanted you dead I'd've shot you the docking tube." DeLoria replied coldly. "Terrans don't use cheap tricks to kill their enemies, they just do it themselves."

Shepard stepped cautiously onto the platform and immediately felt his skin crawling and his vision went white. A few seconds later he stumbled forward and hit the ground, he quickly picked himself and looked back to see Admiral DeLoria materialize on the platform. After a few moments the rest of the squad was assembled in the hanger.

"If you'll follow me." Admiral DeLoria said as he began walking across the hanger.

"Since when do Admirals show guests around?" Ashley asked.

"I don't really have anything else to do, the rest of the galaxy seems to have wised up enough to stop sending pirates and slavers through the relay so I've spent the last six months on my ass." Shepard had stopped paying attention and was more focused on two pilots that where glaring at his team.

"Great, another Spectre." One pilot groaned. "So what's this guy gonna do? Nuke Poseidonis?"

"Nah, the Cids aren't stupid enough to try and screw with us anymore, besides, haven't you heard who's down there with Guts?"

"No, who is it?"

"George fucking Amon!"

"Awe, no way! They sent in George Amon! Those Geth bastards are in for it now! I wish we had old Tom Adler with us though.

"Nah, he retired back to the Scottish Highlands after the Zetan War. Personally I don't blame him, I heard he saw some pretty nasty stuff."

Shepard returned his attention to Admiral DeLoria as they approached the shuttle.

"This is where we part ways." He said. "All I can do now is wish you luck and tell you to give 'em hell, because that's what's gonna be waiting for you as soon hit the ground on Hades."

_Codex Entry_

_Terrans: While the Terrans are similar to Humans genetically and physically the similarities stop there, the Terrans are a race that has little interest in politics coming from an irradiated planet where the person with the biggest guns make the rules. They are much more endurant then most other races and are able to shrug off injuries that would be fatal to their human cousins, they also require much less food, sleep and water than other races and can go for long periods of time without nourishment. Terrans outside of TSC space are a rarity and many are found in the company of races such as the Krogan, Vorcha, and Quarians. Terrans place great value on selflessness and, much like the Turians, believe that the needs of the group surpass the needs of the individual and will gladly sacrifice themselves for another. This mindset was born during the Zetan War when every Terran had sacrificed to aid the war effort in some way. The Terran habit threatening war and violence casually makes many believe that they do not value life when, in reality, they do indeed mourn the dead but choose to honor their sacrifice by pushing forward. So long as they are dying for their race, Terrans do not fear death._

_The Terran Starship Command: "An empire born in blood and forged in nuclear fire." The Terran Starship Command, or TSC for short, is the ruling power in Terran space and on their home planet Terra. The TSC is not truly in control of the planet, the nations conquered during the Unification of Terra are still in existence and still practice their pre-unification forms of government. As long as they pay the TSC their yearly requirement of money, resources and troops and do not violate Terran rights laws the TSC allows them to continue functioning normally. The TSC does however have total control of all colonies in Terran space and the Terran Council is responsible for governing them. Due to a lack of exposure to Prothean technology the the TSC does not have access to mass accelerator weapons and relies on energy weapons and missiles in space combat, their are no known Terran biotics. It is estimated that 98% of Terrans voluntarily serve in the military during peacetime._

_Terran Dreadnoughts: The pride of the TSC, Terran Dreadnoughts are the largest military vessels in the galaxy and carry tremendous amounts of firepower. Their disk-like design means that all weapons are broadside guns and can be used at close range. At long range the dreadnought employs its primary weapon: a devastating Ion Cannon, though the exact power of the weapon is unknown one was able to destroy 10% of a Turian fleet in a single shot. Due to the superior range and accuracy of energy weapons over mass accelerator weapons dreadnoughts and other Terran ships have a ranged advantage over their counterparts in the rest of the galaxy._

_Terran FTL Drives: One of the TSC's most heavily guarded secrets, nothing is known about the science behind their FTL drives but what is know is that they are more advanced than those of other races and do not rely on mass relays. While all ships have their own independent FTL drives Terran FTL is much faster, allowing trips that would take several months to only take several weeks. What is known is that Terran ships have two FTL drives: a primary and a secondary. The secondary drive is used for none-emergencies or when the primary drive is unavailable and uses less power. The primary drive is used in emergencies only and is faster than the secondary drive._

_Thunderfists: An elite branch of the Terran military founded in the early days of the TSC, the Thunderfists are commandos that perform missions that are to dangerous for regular soldiers or marines. They operate in small five man squads and use a combination of stealth and heavy weapons to complete their missions. Their are two ways to join the Thunderfists: you can enlist and go through a rigorous training program largely inspired by that of the pre-war Russian Spetsnaz and Chinese Stealth Commandos or you may be approached with an invitation to join by a high ranking officer or a member of the Thunderfists. The Black Guard is an elite division of the Thunderfists responsible for protecting diplomats and high level military personnel as well as pulling off missions even the Thunderfists consider impossible, the average Black Guard can kill a Deathclaw Matron with his bare hands and no armor. They consider being called commandos to be an insult and are in a league all their own_

_Cids: Slang for the Citadel Council._

**A.N. Sorry it took me so long but my dad decided to drag me out into the mountains for a week and I had to leave my half finished chapter behind. So if this chapter seemed a bit lacking now you know why.**

**Nice to see Butch again wasn't it? I tried to give him a much more hardened personality, it's been fifty years since Fallout 3 and Butch has seen and done some crazy shit to survive the Wastelands and the Zetans, but he's still got his old hair cut and don't think you've seen the last of the Tunnel Snakes.**

**Next chapter we'll see just what kind of hell has broken out on Hades and meet Admiral Guts, but for now let's just say he's a very interesting character and that you know him well. Also, the flight suits worn by Terran pilots look like a mixture of Hei Gui stealth armor and recon armor, just to give you a mental picture.**


	3. Chapter 3

Radiation Burns

Chapter 2

"You and your men haven't slept in almost two weeks Sargent. Take some time off."

"Where's the fuel I requisitioned?! How am I supposed to lead a pyro squad without fuel?!"

"OH GOD WHERE'S MY LEG!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to inform you that your sister has been confirmed KIA."

"Don't waste anesthesia on me! You only have to take my hand off, save it for the guys who need major surgery and just give me a few shots of Med-X!"

"We've just been given authorization to use Fat Man's and MIRV's! Now the fun begins!"

Admiral DeLoria hadn't exaggerated when he said it was hell on Hades, and Shepard had barely been there for five minutes

The Terran camp seemed to be in complete disarray: triage centers and ammo crates where scattered everywhere, soldiers ran left and right and didn't seem to know what was going on, "Hey you!" and Shepard couldn't see any sign of a barracks or command center. "Excuse me!" It was the polar opposite of a well organized Alliance military camp like the one on Elysium. "Hey, walking circus act! I'm talking to you!" Shepard looked over to the voice and was greeted with the sight of a man with a brown warhawk haircut who looked like he'd taken a rocket point-blank.

"I assume one of you is the Spectre?" The man said.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance navy." Shepard replied.

"Knuckle, Fourth Big Town Commandos. Admiral Guts asked me to bring you to him and I'd rather not waste any more time with introductions, I need to get back out there and make sure the dumb bastards in my squad are still breathing."

"Why did Guts call you back if you where in the field?"

"He didn't. Those dumbasses dragged me back here after one of those damned Hoppers shot me then ran off to the front lines."

"Wait, how did a Hopper do this to you?" Shepard asked, confused by the fact that Knuckle looked like he was covered in ten inches of dirt, grime and dried blood.

"It didn't, an Armature fired an anti-armor shell that hit the ground right in front of me. Messed me up pretty bad but a was still good to go, the fucking Hopper hit me a little later."

"You survive-"

"Look, let's just say that Terrans are a lot more durable than Humans and leave it at that! I need to get you to Guts so that I can get back out there while my squad mates still have their guts inside of them!" And with that he walked off with Shepard and the squad in tow.

"So, is there anything you can tell us about the situation?"

"Only that its gone to shit. The Geth have seized control of the planetary defense center and are using it to jam communications with our orbital support, and on top of that they've got AA guns on the buildings. We can't communicate with the fleet, can't call in air strikes, can't get a teleporter signal through, and most of our supplies shuttles are getting blasted out of the sky. We're used to fighting wars without proper supply lines but this is ridiculous!"

"The Terrans are the most advanced species in the galaxy, how could you have gotten into such a bad position?"

"I'm just a grunt Commander, Guts can fill you-"

"INCOMING!" Shepard turned around just in time to see a section of the perimeter wall explode, sending troops and debris flying everywhere.

"PLUG THE BREACH!"

What happened next amazed him: Almost every Terran in the base stopped what they where doing and opened fire on the Geth pouring through the breach, they dashed around quickly grabbing weapons and ammo from the crates scattered across the base while pulling the wounded away from the front lines, the ones that didn't get up and start shooting anyway. It was then that Shepard realized the truth about the base: it wasn't designed for efficiency, it was designed to be easily defended. Having ammo crates and triage centers scattered around the base meant that you where never far from a weapon or medical supplies. It was a sloppy tactic but it definitely worked.

For a few seconds the two sides traded gunfire as the Geth managed to take cover behind some debris. The Terrans laid down suppressive fire while more of there troops pushed forward, closing the distance with the Geth. Shepard was about to give the order for the squad to spread out when Knuckle stopped him.

"We can handle this ourselves commander." He said before charging at the invaders with his assault rifle blazing.

"Not a very idle guy is he?" Garrus said as Knuckle vaulted over a crate and threw a grenade into the breach, destroying the Geth that where coming through. He holstered his rifle and pulled out a Power Fist without breaking his stride and quickly finished off the last few Geth in close range combat.

"YEAH, that's how we do it in Big Town!" He shouted, a Geth peaked out from behind the perimeter wall and took aim at Knuckle but a plasma blast reduced it to scrap metal before it could fire.

"Knuckle, I didn't think I'd have to remind a maggot from Big Town to watch his rear!" A mechanical voice shouted, Shepard and the team turned to see a synthetic the looked like a floating three eyed octopus.

"Sir, won't happen again sir!" That confused Shepard and his team, since when did synthetics hold rank?

"It'd better not, we've lost enough good soldiers already. Go out and find the rest of your squad. Everyone else lets get that wall fixed, someone get me a damned cas rap."

"Eighteen dead, twenty-five wounded Admiral Guts sir." One soldier called as most of the men and women that had just been shooting started repairing the wall or dealing with the wounded.

"And what are a bunch of relay maggots doing here?" The synthetic turned its attention to Shepard.

"And you are?"

"Admiral RL-3 of the Terran Fifth Fleet. Know affectionately as 'Admiral Guts' to the rest of the pansies in the Armed Forces. Damn you Clover..." RL-3 muttered, earning a confused look from Shepards team. "Sorry, personal matter, walk with me." He floated off towards what looked like a makeshift command center.

"Here's the situation." RL-3 said as he activated a holo-map of the city. "When the Geth attacked they completely overwhelmed the colonies defense force, when we landed we'd expected there to be a few resistance pockets who could give us some help but all we found was a horde of Geth who'd had two days to dig in." Several red dots appeared on various places across the map. "These are the ones we've been able to identify. The big problem is they've taken over the planetary defense center and jury-rigged it into one damn big communication and radar jammer, combine that with AA guns in most of the buildings means we're blind, deaf, and fucking mute down here. Only thing we can do is send out small hit-and-run groups to try and whittle them down."

"You're trying to kill them with bug bites?"

"We can't steamroller the bastards if we don't know where they are. This is better then blindly firing artillery into friendlies or sending bombers into AA nests." RL-3 responded.

"How'd this happen to you anyway, you've got he most advanced military in the galaxy and you're on home turf." RL-3 drooped slightly at Shepards question.

"We got hit with something we didn't expect: Cyber warfare. Our computer systems use a mixture of Pre-war and Zetan coding, this mixture creates an incredibly unusual code that's almost impossible to hack, the only problem is-"

"It doesn't matter how advanced your coding is if they can just use brute force to smash through your firewalls." Tali finished.

"Exactly." Guts said. "The sheer number of Geth programs overwhelmed our firewalls and allowed them to scramble our radar and long range comm systems. We can maintain communications with the squads that are close to the base but the ones that get to far..." He drooped again. "These are my men, it's my job to bring them home alive." Everyone gave him a confused look, they'd never seen a synthetic show emotions before.

"Uh... Sorry." Shepard replied.

"Don't worry about, I'm just feeling my age." Guts replied. "Anyway." A large blue dot appeared on the western edge of the city. "We are here." Another dot appeared near the center of the colony. "This is our secondary Firebase. That's where all the action is happening." A large red dot appeared north of the city center. "That's the planetary defense center. If we knock that out we get our other systems back and I can direct our forces more effectively." Guts finished. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, how exactly can we trust you if the Geth have hacked your network?" Garrus replied.

"Don't insult me you Turian maggot!" RL-3 shouted. "My men are dying out there, I may not like getting help from the Cids but there are too many little white crosses in the ground for me to be picky!" His plasma cannon began to glow.

"Admiral." Shepard said calmly. "No one doubts your loyalty, but if the Geth have hacked your network I'm certain you can understand why we're hesitant to trust you." The Admiral glared at Shepard and, strangely enough, Shepard could have sworn he saw regret in its eyes.

"I'm... Sorry." RL-3 said as he powered down his weapons. "I'm not used to being an armchair general, it puts me under a lot of stress. If you really think you can help then I'll send you to the secondary Firebase and you can try and help them re-take the planetary defense center." A red line appeared between the the two blue dots. "We managed to secure an old metro line between here and the secondary Firebase, I have a subterranean combat team that's been escorting troops and supplies between the two bases."

"Admiral, with all do respect, my men and I should be able to make it through the tunnel without you risking any more men."

"I have little doubt of that commander but this is more a matter of professional courtesy, Tunnel Snakes don't like it when you send people to do there jobs for them. Isn't that right Sergeant?" Shepard and the team turned around to see a man standing behind them, he was wearing the standard TSC combat armor with a green snake painted on the chest plate.

**(I told you we haven't seen the last of the Tunnel Snakes!)**

"That's right Admiral." The man replied. "These Relays are more likely to get themselves crushed before they make it half way through the tunnels." He began walking forward. "I take it these are the guys my boys and I are takin to the base?"

"I'm Command-"

"I don't give a shit Relay, let's get something clear right here, right now." The Sergeant said angrily. "When we get into that tunnel you do what I say when I say it."

"So I'm guessing you're not to happy about getting outside help for this mission?"

"There where three battalions of Tunnel Snakes when this battle started and now there's only half a squad, you tell me if I'm unhappy about calling in a bunch Relays to help with a problem you caused. Only reason I'm even agreeing to help you is so you can keep the Geth distracted."

"Stand down Sergeant Coleman!" RL-3 ordered. "I don't like this any more than you do but I'd rather avoid an incident, now get your ass in gear and take these soldiers to the second Firebase ASAP!"

That was all it took to get Coleman to shut up and in less than ten minutes Shepard and the team where headed into the metro tunnel. It wasn't long before they arrived at a balcony with four other soldiers bunched up near the edge.

"Get over here quick! And keep your heads down!" One of the other soldiers called, Coleman quickly ran over to the soldiers with Shepard and his team in tow.

"What's the situation Private?"

"A small squad of Geth came through here while you were up top, we took out most of them but one of the bastards took cover near a tunnel." The Private pointed down to one of the tunnels leading out of the subway station. "Every now and then he pops out and takes a few shots at us."

"Anyone injured?" The Private laughed at Coleman's question and held up a hand to reveal his ring finger had been amputated by a bullet.

"I ain't married, so I'll live." The whole squad chuckled at the Privates reply.

"Alright wiseass." Coleman chuckled. "Since you're so smart, how 'bout you find a way to get rid of that Geth?"

"This'll do the trick." Wrex said as he stood up and readied a grenade.

"NO WAIT!"

Wrex hurled the grenade into the tunnel and was rewarded with a dead Geth flying out when it went off. "Problem solved." He said with a smirk.

"YOU IDIOT!" Coleman shouted. "They've been firing artillery around up there none stop, these tunnels aren't structurally stable, you could have brought the whole fucking metro down on top of us!"

"Hey boss, don't be to hard on him." Another man said. "He don't know the rules of fightin' like a snake."

"No explosive or heavy ordinance." Coleman said quickly. "That's all you need to know, now lets slither." The other Tunnel Snakes nodded and began moving in a bounding overwatch maneuver out of the station. The trip through the tunnel was fairly uneventful as the squad followed the Tunnel Snakes through the subway line. After half an hour they reached the end of the tunnel and the soldier on point called for the teams to group up.

"What's the situation situation?" Coleman asked.

"We got four Geth grouped up around the metro exit, if we wanna get to the base we need to take them out."

"Alright." Coleman said softly, taking a deep breath as he did so. "Fangs." He pointed at one soldier. "Eyes." He pointed to another. "Head." He pointed to himself. "Torso." He pointed to the next man. "Tail." He pointed to the last man. "You all ready?" The men nodded.

"One. Two. Three. SUPPRESSIVE FIRE!" The soldier designated Fangs took off running and dove behind a tunnel map while the rest of the squad unleashed a maelstrom of fire on the Geth, killing one and forcing the remaining three into cover. Coleman repeated the command and Eyes ran over to Fangs while the remaining Snakes covered him. Coleman ran out this time but one of the Geth popped out and fired a quick volley at him half way and he fell flat on his back, Coleman quickly flipped himself over and scrambled behind cover, blood pouring from his chest.

"Garrus, Tali, Ash, get ready. Wrex and Kaidan, on me." Shepard ordered, his squadmates quickly got in position while Torso and Tail just gave them confused looks. "NOW!" He, Wrex, and Kaidan biotic pulls and the Geth where yanked out of cover and cut down by a hail of rifle and shotgun fire. The squads regrouped behind the map.

"Nice job Commander." Coleman groaned. "I hate to admit it but you probably just saved are asses."

"Are you alright? Do you need medical attention?" Shepard asked urgently.

"I got hit seven times in the chest. My armor stopped two of them but the other five went into my chest so all in all nothin' to serious." He pulled himself to his feet and picked up his rifle. "The second Firebase is right through here." Coleman and his squad walked towards the tunnel that the Geth had been guarding. As Shepard and the squad walked through the were greeted by a blast of fresh sunlight.

Followed by an artillery shell landing ten feet in front of them.

"Welcome to the second Firebase Commander, or as the Geth like to call it 'Target Practice' whole place is surrounded with snipers and artillery."

"Wonderful." Shepard replied.

"That's why I sighed up with the Snakes." Coleman replied. "We gotta head back to Guts, there's a Raider division that needs escort and we gotta make sure those stoners don't blow up the whole damned metro system."

"Sure you can't stick around?" Garrus asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, we're only good at fighting underground. Saves time since they don't have to dig our graves."

_Big Town Commandos: When the Supreme Commander arrived in Big Town before the rise of the TSC and trained the local residents in conventional weapons usage, stealth, robotics, and explosives, he had no idea he was training what would become one of the most lethal commando forces on the planet. When the TSC arrived in Big Town months later they found that most of the towns population had vanished until the TSC launched an invasion of Vault 87 and found them waging a guerrilla war against the Super Mutants within. Now the settlement of Big Town is renowned across the world for training its residents to become fearsome killing machines. A fierce rivalry exists between the Thunderfists and the BTCs, the Thunderfists often boast about being better equipped and having more manpower while the BTCs often counter by saying they have to make up for the lack of technology with actual skill._

_Tunnel Snakes: As the TSC began expanding east it started to face threats on the home front from subterranean animal dens and Raider camps where heavy weapons and air support could not be used. Admiral DeLoria solved this problem by founding an elite combat group known as the Tunnel Snakes, who's sole purpose was to fight in underground areas where regular combat tactics are ineffective. Though the Tunnel Snakes proved invaluable during many North American campaigns they became famous during many battles in the pacific where they fearlessly charged into volcanic tunnel systems after entrenched enemies. Do to the dangers of cave-ins and explosive gasses the Tunnel Snakes are prohibited from using explosives, flamethrowers, and energy weapons._

_Raiders: Even after the Unification of Terra Raider clans remained a nuisance to the TSC. During the Zetan War however the TSC found a way to turn the Raiders into a dangerous weapon. When captured Raiders are given a choice: either go to prison and spend the rest of your days in a cell or a mine, or you military service in which you were placed into units dubbed 'Raider Divisions'. The concept of the Raider Division is simple: give the Raider weapons, ammo, and all the chems they can handle, then send them on a suicided charge at an enemy position. Many Raiders choose to serve in the divisions, preferring to "Go out screaming and stoned rather then spend the rest of your life in a cage. Either way you die like an animal, might as well do it the fun way."_

_Terran Military Doctrine: While the Humans prefer to fight their battle by attacking enemy supply lines and bypassing strong points, the Terran military doctrine is based on fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground. The Terran Armed Forces is divided into four branches: Army, Navy, Thunderfist, and Unorthodox. The Terrans typically start battles by sending in various unorthodox units like Raider Divisions to soften up enemy strong points and then send in the army to deliver the killing blow. It is worth note that due to a lack of fossil fuels the Terrans do not use armored vehicle support in battle, relying instead on overwhelming infantry and air power to annihilate their enemies. The Terrans are also lethal on the defensive, able to quickly erect makeshift barricades and fortifications from whatever is lying around and often refusing to retreat or surrender even when given a direct order by a superior officer. A popular saying amongst the Terran military is "You don't see the backside of a Turian until they're dead, you never see the backside of a Terran because you gotta blow 'em up to get 'em to stop fighting."_

_Terran/Galactic Relations: The relations between the TSC and the rest of the galaxy is the most complex political situation in the history of any race. The Terrans have completely rejected the Council and threaten war at the slightest provocation, yet they have a deep respect for all Council races. Terrans are often scene in the presence of the Vorcha, Krogan, and Quarians, this is because the find they can relate easily with these species, Vorcha on a level of toughness, Quarians because of the loss of their homeworld, and Krogan because of the above. The Terrans do however have a very cold relationship with the Batarians, often calling them the 'Greatest hypocrisy of the Council' due to the fact that they are still allowed to practice slavery while the Terrans have abolished it, a Batarian and a Terran in the same room is a bloodbath waiting to happen. The Humans and the Terrans have very different views of each other; while the Humans often try to downplay the genetic differences between the two in the hopes of forging a better relationship the Terrans hold Humanity at an icy distance and regard them as cowardly for trying to avoid war when they are one of the few existing forces that could challenge the Council. One thing that frustrates most galactic powers about the TSC is trade; shortly after first contact the Terrans allowed a Salarian ship to probe several locations in Terran space they discovered massive amounts of Element Zero, which was regarded as a mere scientific curiosity by the TSC and the Zetans before them. The Salarians eagerly gave the TSC the means to detect and mine Eezo but ended up regretting it when the Terrans withdrew from the galactic community. Do to its proximity to the galactic core Terran space is rich with Eezo and the Terrans advanced technology and relaxed view of A.I.'s allowed them to mine the element easier and cheaper than any other corporation. Terran Eezo is the cheapest and best quality in the galaxy and is in incredibly high demand, forcing many corporations to pay thousands of credits a year to what many regard as the greatest threat to galactic peace since the Krogan Rebellions._

_Relays: Slang term for other races from outside Terran space._

**So there's chapter three, I tried to give RL-3 a responsible personality with a little classic Mr. Gutsy mixed in. And to those of you who are wondering why he's called Admiral Guts, Clover gave everyone in the old team nicknames and some grunt overheard a conversation between the two of them.**

**And next chapter Shepard tries to retake the planetary defense center and we get a look at three of the Terrans unorthodox weapons.**

**And now for a challenge, one of these weapons is code named a 'N.A.G.' Lets see if you can figure out what it is, you only hint is that it's related to a Fallout 3 perk.**


End file.
